Ladybug
Trick-taking · 3-4 players · 15-30 min · ages 8+
Mechanics & Theme
A trick-taking game for 3 or 4 players where every card carries two colours. The ladybug's body is the dominant colour: it sets the led colour and breaks ties. The spots on its back are the secondary colour. Both count for following the led colour and for trumping, so a single card can follow two different colours, or trump where nobody expects it.
Before the tricks, each player secretly picks 1 to 4 cards from their hand that they believe will win. These bets are revealed, stay face up in front of their owner and each receive an aphid token. Win the trick in which your bet card is played and the aphid is worth 3 points. If an opponent wins it, they take it for 1 point. Every bet is a promise to keep, and a target for the whole table.
49 cards, 7 colours, 4 rounds. The booklet also includes a 3-player variant and an advanced variant where you can steal other players' bets. As for the theme: lucky ladybugs and tasty aphids. The person whose last wish came true deals first.
Development
Ladybug started with a card idea: what if every card carried two colours at once? The ladybug came next, because its body and spots make that double reading obvious at a glance.
Betting, already at the heart of Button, takes a new form: you no longer bet on a number of tricks, but on specific cards, laid out for everyone to see.
As with Button, the design and visuals are homemade, using Canva.
Production choices
Ladybug is printed in a run of 300 copies, like Button: a limited quantity, intentionally below the economy-of-scale threshold, to avoid excess stock and its environmental impact. It was produced alongside APEX, in a single order.
Detailed costs per copy
| Component | Unit cost (USD) |
|---|---|
| Box | $1.30 |
| Box insert | $0.18 |
| 49 cards (350g C2S) | $1.12 |
| 16 aphid tokens (1.5 mm board) | $0.85 |
| 2 rule booklets (FR + EN, 12 pages) | $0.67 |
| Assembly and shrink wrap | $0.09 |
| Shipping carton (36 games per carton) | $0.02 |
| Total per copy | $4.23 |
Cards, tokens and booklets have a linen finish; the box has a matte lamination.
Shipping and customs: provisional estimate
The shipping and customs invoices are not known yet. In the meantime, I am using Button's shipping cost: $870 for 300 copies, or $2.90 per copy. The estimated cost is therefore $7.13 per copy ($4.23 + $2.90).
Converted at today's rate ($1 = CHF 0.827, 26 October 2026), this gives a base price of CHF 5.90. I will adjust it, up or down, as soon as the real amounts are known.
Development contribution
The base price covers only material costs. Beyond that, you may add a voluntary contribution to:
- Fund future game creations
- Cover additional costs (travel, festivals, website hosting…)
- Support future artistic collaborations
Offering time, spreading the word, or sharing feedback are equally valued forms of support.
